Fibromyalgia Facts (cont.)

Catherine Burt Driver, MD

Catherine Burt Driver, MD, is board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Driver is a member of the American College of Rheumatology. She currently is in active practice in the field of rheumatology in Mission Viejo, Calif., where she is a partner in Mission Internal Medical Group.

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

Is fibromyalgia hereditary?

Increasing evidence supports a strong genetic
component to fibromyalgia. Siblings, parents, and children of a person with
fibromyalgia are eight times more likely to have fibromyalgia than those who
have no relatives with the condition. There are several genes that have been
suspected to play a role in fibromyalgia.

What are risk factors for fibromyalgia?

Because it is in part hereditary, a
family history of fibromyalgia is a risk factor for the development of
fibromyalgia. Other risk factors include autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid
arthritis, lupus, and ankylosing spondylitis, as patients
with these diseases are more likely to have fibromyalgia than the general
population. These patients are referred to as having "secondary fibromyalgia"
because the autoimmune disease may trigger fibromyalgia.

Other emotional and physical stressors such as physical trauma
(especially involving the spine and trunk), emotional stress, and certain
infections (hepatitis C, Epstein-Barr virus, parvovirus, and Lyme disease but
not
the common cold) are associated with the development of fibromyalgia in some.